Welcome to University, Harry Potter
by Eridium Blight
Summary: After Harry Potter completed his seventh year at Hogwarts and defeated the Dark Lord that had hounded him since his birth, he headed back to live with the Weasley family. After staying with them for the summer, Harry decided he wanted to further his education and experience a change of scenery, The United States. He enrolled in and was accepted to ASU in Tempe, Arizona. Lots of OC.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One **

Molly Weasley paced back and forth in the kitchen, holding a letter in her hand. She kept reading and rereading it, making sure that it was 100% true. She knew that when Harry and Ginny got back from their date, she'd have to tell them about it. And why shouldn't she? It's not her letter, not her business. But Molly was never the type not to mettle in her children's lives, or as she liked to call it, "enthusiastic parenting."

She heard the front door open and Ginny's laughter filling the hallway. "Oh, Harry. I can't believe that movie! So funny!" Harry laughed heartily next to her. Molly appeared around the corner suddenly, making Harry jump. "Sorry, Mrs. Weasely. You scared me." "Harry, dear, this came in the mail for you," Molly said, holding out the letter with a bit of a shaky hand. Harry took the letter excitedly, he'd been hoping for good news. He scanned the page quickly, then clapped his hands together loudly. "Yes! I've been accepted!" "Accepted to what, Harry?" Ginny asked. Oh, right. I never _did_ tell her about it, Harry thought. Not that he wanted to keep Ginny out of his life; it was just that he didn't want to get her all worked up if it turned out that he wasn't accepted.

"Ginny," Harry said, sitting at the kitchen table and motioning for her to do the same, "I've applied and been accepted to University in the States. I'll be attending ASU in Tempe, Arizona. I know that I should've told you, but I – "Harry was interrupted by a punch to the arm. "Ow!" he said. "You big jerk!" Ginny yelled. "Why didn't you bother to tell me?!" "I'm sorry, I just didn't want you to get all worked up about it…..kinda like you're doing now." That warranted another punch from Ginny. Harry thought that by the end of all this he might very well have a sizeable bruise. "Well, you're not going. Simple as that. We have plans. You can't go," Ginny said, crossing her arms and frowning. "It's not an option, Ginny," Harry said, gently. "This is a great opportunity, and I can't pass it up. I know this will be hard for us, but I know we can make it. I'll write to you frequently, and you can always call me." Tears welled up in Ginny's eyes as she stormed out of the kitchen and up the stairs to her bedroom. Yikes. Harry knew this was going to go badly, but he didn't think it would be this bad.

"Oh, Harry," Molly said, pulling him into a hug, "don't worry about her. Everything will be all right. This is a wonderful chance for you. I'm so proud, and I know Arthur will be, too, once he gets home." "Thanks, Mrs. Weasley, it means a lot to me." Harry picked up the letter and read it once more. He got to the end of the letter and jumped out of his chair. "Blimey! Orientation starts in two days! I've got to get a plane ticket and pack and figure out books and all in two days?!" Molly smiled and laughed. "All taken care of, dear. Arthur and I suspected that you'd get accepted. After all, who wouldn't want our Harry?" Harry smiled back at her. "You're amazing, Mrs. Weasley. Thank you."

Harry walked up the stairs, passing Ginny's bedroom. He knew better than to bother her when she was in a mood like this. He went to his bedroom and began deciding what he was going to take with him to University. "Well," Harry said aloud, after packing all that he thought he would need, "guess that's about it." Harry headed down the stairs with his belongings and placed them by the front door, ready to be taken to the airport the next day. "So," Ginny said from behind him, her voice quiet, "you're really going then." "Come here," Harry said, holding out his arms to hug her. "Everything will be all right, I promise. Don't worry about me." "It's not you I'm worried about," Ginny said, looking up into Harry's eyes, "it's us."

**Please review and respond! Feedback is much appreciated! Next chapter: Harry heads off to ASU. Will he and Ginny survive? And how will Harry handle being at a muggle school?**

**Eridium Blight **


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Arthur and Molly stood at the front door, waiting for Harry so they could leave for the airport. Ginny was sitting at the kitchen table, messing with her bowl of cereal. "Ginny, either eat it or throw it away." Molly said. Ginny had been sitting there for almost 20 minutes. Ginny got up and rinsed out her bowl just as Harry came walking down the stairs, Ron close behind him. "Too bad Fred and George aren't here to see you off, Harry." Arthur said, picking up some of Harry's luggage that was sitting at the door. Harry and Ron grabbed the rest of Harry's belongings and headed out to the car to load everything. The three men loaded everything into the car and then they all got in and headed to the airport.

Harry sat next to Ginny on the ride there, his arm around her shoulders. He knew this was going to be difficult for their relationship, but he was certain their love would triumph. Ron kept trying to crack jokes on the way to the airport, but none of them were really funny. When they got to the airport, Molly and Arthur took turns saying their goodbyes. "Harry, we'll all miss you terribly. Be sure to write. And wash. And study. And make friends. And—" "Okay Molly," Arthur interrupted, laughing. "I think he gets it. Harry, I know you'll make us all proud. Good luck." Harry hugged each of them and then turned his attention to Ron. "So, it's really happening. Off to the States. Let me know how it is, yeah?" Ron said, choking back tears. Harry smiled and hugged Ron tightly. Of course I will." The rest of the family left give Harry and Ginny some privacy to say goodbye.

Harry could see tears in Ginny's eyes, and he didn't want to leave her on a sad note. "Hey," he said, lifting her chin gently so their eyes met. "Remember that picnic we went on last year, when I got attacked by that giant bird?" Ginny smiled slightly, "Yeah. Yeah, I do. Oh Harry, I just can't imagine being away from you for so long. How will I manage?" Harry pulled Ginny into his arms and held her tightly. "Everything will be alright. I promise." *_Now Boarding: Flight 436 – Tempe.* _"That's my flight. I have to go." Harry waved goodbye to the Weasleys one last time, headed across the terminal, and boarded his plane.

Harry had never been on a plane before, but all in all, he didn't much care for it. The seats were too tightly packed together, and people had the worst manners. Was this what University would be like? He hoped not. Harry landed in Tempe around 5:00 pm, and after gathering all of his bags from the luggage carousel, (something that he didn't see much point in at all) he called a taxi to take him to ASU. When Harry arrived, he found his dorm room fairly easily. It was on the first floor of his building. He was in room 221, Artman Hall. Harry opened his room door slowly, taking in the surroundings. He placed his belongings on his side of the room, noting that his roommate had not arrived yet. Good, Harry thought. This gives me some time to get set up. He spent the rest of the night arranging his room, and then went to sleep.

Harry awoke to a shrill alarm going off and a red flashing light. He checked his alarm clock: 4:26 am. Harry groaned and rolled out of bed, grabbed his room keys, and headed outside to join the rest of his building mates who were standing outside on the cold grass. Many of them look really pissed, Harry thought. After standing outside for a good 10 minutes, the fire department cleared the building, saying that someone had just pulled the alarm as a prank. Everyone was swearing under their breath as they headed back inside to get some sleep before orientation the next day. Harry sighed. If this was only the first night, what more would be in store for him?

The next day, Harry got up and headed to orientation, which from what he understood was much like the sorting ceremony at Hogwarts, without the magic of course. Everyone sat around and learned where they would be and who they would be with. Harry sat through presentation after presentation, ranging from learning about the campus health center (most people only seemed concerned if they could get free condoms or not) to learning about how to pay for college (a problem that Harry didn't have, considering he had all the money he'd ever need in Gringotts.) After what turned out to be a very boring day, Harry went back to his room to relax before going to dinner in the cafeteria. When he got back, he was greeted by a tall boy, about his age. He was dressed in a navy blue polo that was tucked into his khaki pants. He had black dress shoes on, and his hair was cut military short. The boy stuck out his hand, and Harry shook it. "Eric Watson, nice to meet you." The boy said. "Harry. Harry Potter. Nice to meet you as well." The two then sat around and told each other a little bit about themselves. Eric was from Ohio, and he was studying to become a Pastor. He seems nice enough, Harry thought.

Later that evening, the two boys were sitting on Harry's side of the room, chatting. Harry reached into one of his drawers to retrieve something, and Eric caught a glimpse of something that sparked his interest. "What is this?" Eric said, reaching in and pulling out one of Harry's wands. Crap. He had forgotten that was in there. "Oh, that's just a Halloween prop." Harry said, lying through his teeth. "I was a wizard with my kid sister last year, and I guess it just got thrown in with all my other stuff." "Oh, good." Eric sighed, looking surprisingly relieved. "For a second I thought you were going to be one of _those_ people who believe in magic. Everyone knows that magic isn't real, and those who believe in it will be condemned under our Lord and Savior." Eric said, crossing himself as he said it. "Haha, yeah," Harry agreed, laughing nervously. Thankfully, he was saved by his phone ringing in his pocket.

"Hello?" Harry said, answering the phone. "Harry, it's me," said Ginny, her familiar voice coming through the phone. "Hey, how are you?" Harry smiled, grateful to hear her voice. "Well, I'm fine. Uhm, we need to talk. I just, I can't do this anymore." "What do you mean 'you can't do this'? Do what? I've only been gone one day!" Harry was quite irritated at this point. (Wouldn't you be?) "It's too hard being away from you, even for one day. I can't be with you when you're all the way in the States, Harry. I hope we can still be friends and you'll come back to see us soon." "Yeah, fine. Whatever," Harry said, hanging up the phone and throwing it on his desk. He flopped down on his bed, put a pillow over his face, and screamed. "You okay over there?" Eric called from his side of the room. "Do I need to pray for you tonight?" Harry rolled his eyes and sat up on his bed. "No thanks, Eric. I'm fine." Damn, Harry thought. This is going to be an interesting year.

**Thanks for reading. :) Please feel free to review! **

**Eridium Blight **


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

*Beep* *Beep* Harry reached over, semi-conscious, and hit the Snooze button on his alarm clock. He checked the time, 8 am. He had class at nine. Ugh. Harry rolled slowly out of bed, not wanting to get up. He glanced over at Eric's side and noticed that he wasn't there. His bed was made, his side of the room perfectly tidy. Harry, sighed, grabbed a towel, and headed off to take a shower. By the time he got back in his room, Eric was there in a tank top and shorts. "Hey," Harry mumbled as he walked to his side of the room to get changed. "Hey there, sleepyhead," Eric said cheerily. "Where were you this morning?" Harry asked. "I went for a run, like I do every morning," Eric answered as he headed off to shower himself. Once he was dressed and cleaned up, Harry checked the clock and it was 8:45! Shit, Harry thought. No time for breakfast then. Oh well. He grabbed his backpack and headed out the door to his fist class.

Harry slid into a seat in the back of the room. He looked around; things didn't seem much different than they would be in a class back at Hogwarts. A girl with curly brown hair sat in front of him, partially blocking his view of the board. They weren't even in the class five seconds and the girl had already pulled out her syllabus (which apparently Harry needed to have), her day planner, notebook and THREE highlighters. Three! What in God's name could she need three damn highlighters for? Harry thought to himself, it's a friggin' Math class! Thankfully, Harry was saved from the absurdity of the curly haired girl by the professor walking in. He was a short man, balding and kind of fat. He reminded Harry a bit of Vernon, though he didn't smell nearly as badly. The professor strode to the front of the classroom and that's when Harry noticed that 'Dr. Chapeau' was written on the board. "Welcome everyone, to Math 215. I'm Dr. Chapeau, but you can call me anything you want."

A couple of Harry's classmates snickered. He was pretty sure that a few of them would come up with some pretty interesting ways to take advantage of that. Harry was staring absent-mindedly out the window while Dr. C (that's what he decided to call his professor, though admittedly it was tempting to call him Dickbreath or something) talked about the class and a little about himself, but he was pulled out of his thoughts when Dr. C said "Yes, you have a question?" Harry looked up to see none other than Curly Hair with her damned hand in the air! Class had been going for six minutes! What could she possibly have a question about?! "Uhm, yes. I was just curious if you knew about the new data that MENSA released regarding the Fibonacci sequence?" What? Harry thought. What does that even have to do with anything? Dr. C smiled and began to answer her not-question. That's exactly what it was, a not-question. If Curly Hair continued on like this for the rest of the semester, Harry was sure he'd go batshit. After the third time of Curly Hair raising her hand to ask a not-question, Harry was going crazy.

He reached in his backpack and pulled out his wand. He sat turning the wand slowly in his hands, admiring it. The 11 inch beauty was carved from holly wood and had a matching handle, with a phoenix feather core. Harry stared out the window, thinking fondly of Hogwarts and the man who had given him that feather, Dumbledore. Shortly, however, he was ripped out of his thoughts once again by Curly Hair and her damned raised hand. This is ridiculous! Harry thought. He began thinking of all the things he'd like to do to get her to shut the hell up. He was getting madder and madder at Curly Hair with every passing moment. Suddenly, a flash of blue shot from the tip of Harry's wand, and Curly Hair stood up with her left hand clutching her mouth. Harry looked down to see that her right arm was stitched to her side. When Curly Hair moved her hand briefly from her mouth, the class gasped, for where her mouth would be, instead was a zipper held closed with a padlock. Harry quickly threw his wand back into his backpack and zipped it up. Dr. C was escorting a very alarmed Curly Hair out of the room. The whole room was full of people asking the same question: How? Harry glanced around and was relieved to see that no one was looking at him. He picked up his bag and snuck out of the room. Once he was out, Harry walked down the hall and took a left into the first restroom he saw. Harry pulled out his wand and examined it. He hadn't even meant to cast a spell on Curly Hair. Harry took a few minutes to calm down and resolved that he'd just have to be more careful. Besides, Harry thought, no one saw my wand or the blue light. I'm home free. Or so he thought.

Harry had never been slammed against a concrete wall, but he didn't have to have the experience to know that it wasn't going to feel good. And it didn't. The cold brick tingled against his back where his shirt had raised up a bit. Being shoved into a locker doesn't allow much time for keeping fashion in mind, after all. Harry was soon face to face with the boy who had pushed him into the wall in question. A tall, muscular boy a year or two older than Harry, he had a military-style haircut and his breath smelled of cigarettes. His hot breath hit Harry's face as he spoke. "Listen, dipshit. I saw what happened today in class. You did something to Ella. (Ah, Harry thought, that's Curly Hair's name) Nobody knows what's going to happen to her, or if she'll even come back. She was mine! I was so close to getting with her, and you had to go and fuck all that up." Harry really wanted to reach up and wipe the fog off that had accumulated on his glasses, but his arms were pinned to his sides. "I don't know what you did to her, with your blue light and whatever else, but I'm gonna find out. And when I do, you're gonna pay." "Hey, Alec!" someone called from down the hall. The boy – Alec – turned to see who was calling him, and Harry saw his opportunity.

He had just enough leeway to wiggle his right arm free and land a punch straight into Alec's jaw. Alec was sent flying backwards into the wall on the other side of the hall. Harry fell to the floor, but got up quickly, arms up to protect his face. Alec was bleeding a little from the corner of his mouth. He wiped at the blood with the back of his hand and charged at Harry. Harry took a fist straight to the gut and got the wind knocked out of him. His glasses fell to the floor and broke. Great, Harry thought. Now I have to fix those again. Harry brought up his right knee into Alec's chest which sent him into a coughing fit. Harry used that moment to get his back away from the wall and get behind his opponent. Alec turned and charged head-first at Harry, but he moved at the last second and Alec slammed his head into the wall on the other side of the hall, knocking himself out. Harry didn't wait around to see if he'd wake up. He picked up his backpack and his broken glasses and walked down the hall. "That went better than I thought," Harry thought aloud. "And I didn't even have to use magic." _This time._

Harry threw his backpack down on his bed and sat in his desk chair, sighing. It had been a damn long day. He took off his shirt to assess the damages from his 'meeting' with Alec earlier and heard Eric gasp from the doorway. Crap. Eric rushed over and looked at the softball-sized bruise on Harry's stomach. "Oh my gosh, what happened?" Eric asked. He looked like he was the one that just took a head to the gut. "It's nothing," Harry said, pretending that it didn't hurt like hell. "Just got a little too rough in gym today." Harry pulled his shirt back on and leaned back in his chair to prove that it didn't hurt. He nearly screamed in pain, but it fooled Eric enough. "Gym can be a little rough. Just be careful. The Lord heals all, and He will deliver." Eric smiled at Harry and went back to his side of the room. He will deliver, Harry thought, picking up his bag and heading out the door to get some food. And if he doesn't, I sure as hell will.

**Thanks for reading. Please feel free to review!**

**Eridium Blight **


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

**Again, I do not own anything related to Harry Potter. **

The dining hall wasn't as full as Harry imagined it would be. Then again, he was comparing it to the dining hall at Hogwarts. There were about 20 tables scattered throughout the room with at least three people sitting at each one. Harry stood just inside the doorway, looking for somewhere to sit. "Harry! Over here!" He looked over to see Eric calling from a table in the corner. That's not gonna happen, Harry thought. He waved at Eric and kept walking farther into the dining hall. He finally found a table in the back corner of the room that was empty, so he plopped his backpack down on the table and went to get some food.

The selection left much to be desired. There was pizza, but it didn't look like any kind of pizza you would actually enjoy eating. There was some kind of pasta, but as to what meat was in it, Harry had no idea. He ended up settling on a cheeseburger and some fries, which seemed safe enough. He grabbed his plate and sat down at the table, content being alone. He had just taken a bite of his cheeseburger when he heard someone clear their throat, and he realized that a girl was standing at his table looking at him. Harry looked up to see a pale-skinned girl with a sky blue shirt under a faux leather jacket and jeans that showed just the smallest bit of her midriff. Her shiny black hair cascading down her shoulders and hid one of her green eyes. Harry almost gasped at her beauty. "Can I sit here? There's nowhere else available." Her voice was like a melody playing in Harry's ears. "Uhm, yeah, sure." Harry said, thinking of how incredibly awkward he must have looked staring at her like that.

The girl sat down and brushed the hair from her face. Harry noted with a smile that she too was eating a cheeseburger and fries. The girl looked up and caught him staring, so he used the moment to make an introduction. "My name's Harry Potter." He said, and immediately felt stupid. She hadn't asked for his name, and she probably didn't even care. "I'm Alice Greene." She said, smiling at Harry. His heart felt like it was melting. She would really have to stop that smiling thing if he were to get through the meal in one piece. "I see you played it safe with the cheeseburger and fries as well." Harry said to Alice, trying desperately to make conversation. "Yeah, it looked like the only thing that wouldn't bite me back," Alice laughed. Harry leaned a bit closer to Alice, laughing along with her. God she was pretty. He thought he should tell her so, but didn't get the chance.

"Alec, hey." Alice said as a familiar-looking boy wrapped his arms around her. Shit. The boy who had had Harry pinned to a wall just hours earlier was now in a lip lock with the beautiful girl he'd just met. "This is Harry Potter." Alice said, gesturing towards Harry. Alec looked like he wanted to jump over the table and beat the shit out of Harry, but instead he smiled and said, "Yeah, we met earlier." Damn he had a creepy smile. "Well, we gotta go. Nice to meet you." Alice and Alec left the dining hall hand in hand. Harry sighed and sat at the table, thinking about Alice and what a creep her boyfriend was. He had even said he was close to scoring with Curly Hair….er, Ella. What a fucking creep.

Harry got back to his room and lay down on his bed with a pillow over his eyes. His thoughts drifted back to Hogwarts and to Hermione. He had liked her for a long time back then, but she was taken by his best friend, Ron. And now he wanted to get to know Alice better, but she was taken by Alec. No matter how much of a lowlife Alec was, Harry couldn't bring himself to hurt Alice by telling her what he knew. He sighed and rolled over on his bed to stare at the wall. Why do I only fall for the taken ones? He thought.

Harry got up out of bed and headed to take a shower before going to bed. He fell asleep quickly after getting into bed and had a vivid dream about Alice. She was holding his hand and they were kissing and then…then he woke up. Damn, Harry thought. Always seem to wake up before the best part. "That's it," Harry said aloud. "I have to see her again."

**This one's a bit shorter but longer ones are to come I promise! Please read and review it helps so much! **

**Eridium Blight**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

***Disclaimer: I do not own any Harry Potter related things.***

"He seemed nice, don't you think?" Alice said as she walked out of the dining hall with Alec. "Yeah, not so much," Alec said back, almost sneering. "What do you mean?" Alice asked. Harry had seemed nice enough the 20 minutes she had sat with him. "Well, people talk about him. He's a stalker, and he follows around girls just like you. I'd stay away from him if I were you." Alec said, feigning concern. "Oh, well, okay then. Hey, I gotta get to class. See you later," Alice said, kissing Alec's cheek. Well, she thought to herself, I guess Alec knows what he's talking about.

Alice continued down the hallway towards her classroom, and was almost in the door when she heard a familiar accented voice. "Alice, hey." She looked over her shoulder to see Harry standing about 15 feet away. She smiled at him nervously before ducking into her classroom. Wow, that was weird, she thought. But probably just a coincidence. Once her class let out, Alice decided to go to the campus store (much like a convenience store) to pick up some milk. She was in line waiting to check out when she glanced out the window to see Harry headed towards the building. She hurried herself through the line and left through a back door before he even reached the building. Okay, that was a little bizarre, Alice thought. She kind of shrugged it off and headed to the library to do some homework.

Alice sat down at a table in the corner of the library, grateful for the silence to get some work done. She had barely made a dent in her homework when she realized that someone was standing behind her. She turned around and jumped slightly at the sight of Harry. "Seems like I'm seeing you everywhere today, Alice," Harry said, laughing. She grabbed her stuff and nearly ran out of the library.

Harry didn't understand. He had thought that Alice was a nice girl (and very pretty) and so he didn't understand why she kept avoiding him. Harry sat down at the now empty table in the library where Alice was sitting a minute before and began to think about it. _I saw her in the English hallway this morning; her classroom is next to mine. _

_When I said hello, she did smile at me, so that's good. But then she ran into her classroom. Maybe she was just late. Then I was on my way to the campus store to get a snack after class, and I could swear I saw her sneaking out the back door. Then I come to the library to print off notes for my class tomorrow, and I see her sitting at this table. So I come over to talk to her, and she runs out the door! Did I do something wrong? _

Harry held his head in his hands and sighed. This was not going the way he intended it to. Maybe she just didn't want anything to do with him. Harry picked up his backpack from the floor and headed back to his room.

Alice walked across the campus towards the student union with a smile on her face. After she left the library and got away from Harry, she had gone to a coffee shop on the other side of campus and treated herself to a latte and had a chance to calm down. She walked in the doors of the union and headed down a hallway to the left to find Alec. It was 3:00 pm, so he'd likely be hanging out here. Alice rounded the corner and stopped short to see Alec talking with his friends. "Yeah, she really fell for it," Alec was saying, laughing. _Who is he talking about? _Alice wondered. "All I told her was that Potter kid was a stalker and she ignored him the whole day! Hahaha," Alec continued. "I thought you were gonna leave her for that chick from you math class, Ella," one of Alec' friends, a boy Alice knew from her history class said. "Why choose one when you can have both?" Alec said, and that got them all laughing.

Alice was pissed, to say the least. She stormed up to Alec and slapped him across the face. "How fucking dare you lie to me. We're through." She spat at him before storming off. Alec didn't even bother to chase after her, instead calling out, "You'll be back. You'll miss me soon enough." Alice had tears running down her face before she even left the union. How could Alec do that to her? She cried as she walked towards the dorms to be alone. He lied about Harry, too, Alice thought. He was such a nice kid, and I ignored him all day just because of that ass! Alice sobbed into her hands and sat down on a bench along the sidewalk. She was attempting to compose herself when she felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Alice, are you alright?" Harry said. He had been on the way to his dorm room when he spotted her crying alone on a bench. Even though she had seemed to ignore him all day, he had to stop and help her. "Oh, Harry. I'm sorry about today. Alec is such an asshole." "Hey, calm down, it's gonna be alright. Tell me what happened." Harry sat down on the bench next to Alice and she buried her head in his shoulder. She sat and told him the whole story. Harry was almost fuming by the end of it. Not because Alec had called him a stalker, but because he had hurt Alice. "He doesn't deserve someone as great as you," Harry said, hugging Alice. He felt cliché saying it, but damn was it true. Alice pulled some tissues out of her bag and began to dry her eyes. Even with mascara running down her face Harry still thought she was beautiful. "Thank you, Harry. You're really sweet," Alice said, wiping her eyes. Harry pulled a piece of paper from his backpack and a pen. He wrote down his cell phone number and his room number and handed it to Alice. "If you ever need anything, anything at all, please feel free to call or come by," he said as she took the paper and smiled at him. "Thanks," Alice said, "I will."

Harry headed back to his room and snuggled down in his bed. It had been an interesting day. After he had left Alice sitting on the bench (she assured him she was okay) he had come back to his room, finished up some homework, gone to dinner, and had spent the rest of the evening reading for his classes. Pretty exciting stuff. Harry was just about to fall asleep when he heard a knock at his door. He stumbled out of bed and headed to the door.

Harry opened it to see Alice standing in his doorway. She was wearing an oversized t-shirt and pajama pants. She didn't look too steady on her feet and smelled of liquor. "Heeeyyy, Harry," Alice slurred. She stumbled forward and almost fell but Harry caught her. "Alice, what are you doing here? Are you drunk?" Alice giggled for an answer. "I'm fine, Harry. I was just in my room thinking about you and thought I should come over and show you just how much I like you. Alice tried to pull Harry close to her but he stopped her. "Alice, you're drunk. And as much as I'd love for you to, erhm, show me (Oh god, did he want that) it wouldn't be appropriate. Come here and lay down on the couch, you're sleeping here tonight so I can make sure you're okay." Harry went to his bedroom and came back with an extra pillow and a blanket. He set up everything on the couch and told Alice to lie down. He sat up and made sure she was okay for almost an hour, though she fell asleep after about 20 minutes. Harry yawned and headed back to bed.

Alice woke up the next morning with a terrible headache. _Where am I? _She wondered. Alice looked around and sat up. It took her about 10 seconds to remember what happened last night. She groaned and held her head in her hands. _Well, that's a great way to start things out_. She got up off the couch and knocked timidly on Harry's bedroom door.

Harry had been up early that morning. He was worried about Alice. He checked on her once to make sure she was okay, and then spent the morning working in his room. He heard a knock on his bedroom door and opened it to see Alice standing there. "How are you feeling?" He asked her. Alice smiled at him, "Oh, not too bad, considering. Thanks for….everything." Harry smiled back. Her smile was infectious. "Just glad to know you're alright, dear." _Did I really just call her dear? _ Alice's face seemed to redden slightly and she looked down at the floor. "Well, I should probably get back to my room. See you around." Harry walked Alice to the door and opened it for her. "Yeah, see ya," he said. He was sad to see her leave, but given the circumstances, it wouldn't really be appropriate to ask her to stay. Alice walked out the door and stepped into the hallway. Harry turned to head back into his bedroom. "Oh, Harry?" Alice said. Harry turned back to face her. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed his lips softly.

**Thanks for reading and reviewing everyone. Please always feel free to review!**

**Until next time, **

**Eridium Blight **


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

**I do not own any Harry Potter related information.**

Alice smiled to herself as she headed down the hallway away from Harry's room. That had been some kiss. She hadn't really planned on kissing him that way (though she had to admit that she had been thinking about kissing him ever since they sat on the bench together), especially not after drunkenly asking him for a good time. She got to her own room, on the second floor of the same building, flopped down on her bed, and sighed. She hoped he liked the kiss. After all, he didn't kiss her back. But she _had_ kind of sprung it on him, and he didn't have much time to react. Alice paced around her room thinking about all of this. She wanted to kiss him again.

Harry sat down on his living room couched and sighed, a smile plastered on his face. He definitely didn't think that his day would start with Alice kissing him, not that he minded. He lie back on the couch and closed his eyes, remembering the kiss. The way her soft lips felt against his, how cute it was that she had to stand on her tiptoes to kiss him. _I should've kissed her back_ kept playing over and over again in Harry's brain like a record skipping on an old player. His first thought was that it had probably just been a pity/thank you kiss. That she didn't mean anything romantic by it. On the other hand, the way it felt sure didn't feel like just a friend thanking another friend. There was passion in her lips. One thing was for sure: he had to see her again and find out how she felt.

Harry sat down at a table near the door to the dining hall. It was lunch time on a Saturday and he hoped that Alice would be there. He had looked around when he entered the dining hall and didn't see her. Harry picked at his food, some kind of pasta with something that was pretending to be meat swimming in it. He couldn't stop thinking about Alice and that kiss. He was just about to choke down another bite of the questionable pasta when he saw a flash of something bright in the corner of his eye. He turned towards the door to see Alice walking into the dining hall. His heart skipped a beat. She was wearing a bright yellow blouse with a black skirt (not too short, but just short enough) showing off her long, pale legs. She had on black converse, the same as he. He felt shabbily dressed in his gray t-shirt and ripped jeans. His hair was a mess, while hers seemed to always be perfectly styled. Today she wore a small yellow bow in it, both contrasting the darkness of her hair and complementing her shirt. She smiled at him, walked over to his table and sat down, not even bothering to get food for herself.

"Hi Harry," Alice said, smiling and looking into his eyes. His face flushed slightly as he responded, "Hi Alice." She looked down at the table, and Harry could tell she was blushing. "So, about earlier….." Alice started. "I'm sorry I didn't kiss you back, I should've. And I really liked it. And I thought it might just be a thank you or a pity kiss but it didn't _feel _like one, ya know? And I just – "Harry's rambling was interrupted by Alice's lips on his. This time, he did kiss her back. The feeling of her lips against his was incredible. The two broke apart and she smiled at him, "It was most definitely not a pity kiss." Harry smiled at Alice. "I hope this isn't too forward of me, but would you like to get dinner together tonight?" Alice smiled widely at him, "I'd love to."

Harry was in his room, getting ready to pick Alice up for their date. He had showered, dressed, and was now pretty much killing time until he was supposed to go get her. He pulled his wand out of his desk drawer and played with it. Eric was at a bible study tonight (Harry didn't know they even had bible studies on Saturday nights), so he didn't worry about having his wand out. He must have been messing around with it for quite a while, because when he looked up at the clock, he realized he only had two minutes to get up to Alice's room. Harry grabbed his jacket (a black leather one that complemented his blue polo and khakis) and rushed out of his room.

He got to Alice's room at just the right time. She answered the door and his jaw dropped. Alice was wearing a white and green blouse that was just the right amount of low cut, and that black skirt from earlier. Damn he liked that skirt. She had on black flats and he noticed she smelled of something fruity. Harry must have been staring, because Alice blushed. "Sorry, is it too much?" "No, no. You look amazing," Harry said. She smiled and closed the door behind her, walking with Harry down the hallway. Harry reached down nervously and held her hand, and she smiled.

Harry opened the room to his door and led Alice in. The date had gone wonderfully. He had taken her to a restaurant not too far from campus, and they had both loved the food. Throughout the date, they asked each other the generic first date questions. Alice had asked him for his major. "Education," Harry replied. (After all, someone had to take over now that Snape was gone.) Alice was an Art major and wanted to go into graphic design. Now that they were back from the date, they had decided to come back to Harry's room and watch a movie. Harry went into the kitchen to make some popcorn, and when he came back, he nearly spilled it all. Alice had his wand in her hands. Shit. He must have left it laying on his desk in his hurry to leave for the date.

Alice looked up at Harry. "What's this?" She asked. "Oh, yeah. That's just a cheap Halloween prop from last year," Harry said, using the same lie that he had told Eric. "I was a wizard with my kid sister and it just got thrown in with my college stuff on accident." Harry turned his back to her to retrieve a movie from a top shelf. "11 inches, carved from holly wood with a phoenix feather core, right?" Harry gasped and turned around to look at Alice. "H-how do you know all that?" Alice smiled up at him, "Everyone knows what Harry Potter's wand is made of."

**How does Alice know about Harry's wand? What has she been hiding from him?**

**Until next time,  
**

**Eridium Blight **


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven **

***I do not own Harry Potter or any of the information associated with Harry Potter. But if I did, that would be pretty cool.***

Harry felt his heart drop in his chest. Alice knew more about his wand than any non-magic user (he didn't feel right calling her a muggle) ever should. "Alice," Harry began, choosing his words slowly and carefully, "how do you know about my wand?" Alice chuckled at Harry, "Because," she said as if it should be obvious, "I'm a squib."

If this were an old cartoon, Harry's jaw would have hit the floor in some kind of comical reaction to surprise. His jaw did hang open, just not in a comical way. More like in an 'Oh my God holy shit' kind of way. "You're a squib?!" He almost screamed. Alice patted the bed next to her, signaling Harry to sit. However, he didn't feel much like sitting at the moment, considering how shocked he was. "When I was born, my parents were really young and couldn't keep me," Alice began. "So they put me up for adoption. I was adopted by a lovely family from Salem, Oregon and they raised me like I was their own. Well, almost. See, both mom and dad were professors at the Salem Academy for Wizardry, and they had two other children besides me. They – my brother and sister, I mean – attended the academy and learned wizardry, but I didn't. I wasn't born into the wizarding ways and mom and dad didn't think it appropriate that they try to introduce it to someone that would be considered and outsider. I grew up around magic, and heard a lot about you. To be honest, I knew who you were the minute I saw you, but I figured you had a good reason for not divulging who exactly you were to me, so I kept my mouth shut. Until now, anyway." Alice smiled at Harry, satisfied that she had explained everything to him. Harry just stood there, thinking. Finally, he spoke. "Okay, so you're a squib. I guess that just means we really are perfect together." He smiled back at her and they kissed.

Harry walked to the common area of his building. Among the few pieces of furniture that decorated the room were the mailboxes for each student in the building. Harry found his mailbox (of course it had to be on the highest row, causing him to have to stand on his tiptoes just to see into it) and turned the lock on the front with the key he had been given. He reached back as far as his arm could reach into the mailbox and pulled out a letter with a brown envelope. It had his name on the front, and he checked the return address to confirm his suspicion: Weasley. Harry walked back to his room and made sure he was alone before opening the letter. At Hogwarts, it was all fine and good if you opened a letter and it started talking to you or something flew out, but here Harry imagined people wouldn't just accept it. He carefully opened the letter and began to read it.

_Harry, hope everything is going well at University. The family is fine, though we miss you terribly. Please come visit us soon. It's not the same around here without you. Ron says hi. We are all so very proud of you, dear. _

_ Molly _

Harry smiled at the letter. It was nice to hear from the family. He would have to write them back soon. He was just about to put the letter in his desk drawer when he noticed another piece of paper folded up inside the envelope. Harry unfolded it and his heart sank.

_Harry, Molly doesn't know that I've slipped this letter in with hers, and she doesn't know what I've written. I've spoken with Kingsley Shacklebolt, (The Minister of Magic) and I'm afraid I have grave news._

_The Death Eaters are back, Harry. And they're looking for you._

_ Arthur_

**Thanks everyone for reading! Please read and review it really helps! Sorry this one is so short. The next one will be longer, I promise.**

**Until next time,**

**Eridium Blight **


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

***Still don't own any Harry Potter stuff***

Harry ran his fingers through his hair and paced back and forth in his bedroom. He was pretty freaked out, and he had a right to be. If Arthur's note was right (and why wouldn't it be?) the Death Eaters were back at Hogwarts and looking for him. If they didn't find him there, what would they to do his friends, to Ron and Hermione? The thought of Hermione getting hurt made his stomach flip. He was happy being with Alice, but he would always have a special place in his heart for Hermione.

Harry picked up his cell phone and called Alice. She didn't answer her phone, which just made Harry worry more. "Hey, Alice, it's me. Just uhm, call me when you get this. Bye." Harry didn't even have time to set the phone down and walk away before it rang again. "Hello?" He said. "Hey, sorry I missed your call, what's up?" Alice's familiar voice through the phone calmed Harry down a bit, though not by much. "Can you come down to my room? I gotta talk to you about something. Nothing bad, well, kinda bad. Just come down here please." "Uh, okay. See you in a minute." Alice said, and they ended the call. _She probably thinks I'm breaking up with her, _Harry thought to himself.

Harry opened his door to find Alice standing there. She was wearing gray sweat pants and a black t-shirt, with her long dark hair pulled back into a messy ponytail. "You look adorable," Harry said to her, giving her a welcoming kiss on the lips. Alice smiled and kissed him back, then looked at him with worry in her eyes. "Is everything okay Harry? You sounded really worried on the phone." Harry sighed and grabbed her hand and led her into his bedroom. "Where's Eric?" She asked. That was a good question actually. Harry hadn't seen him in the past few days. He thought that they were just missing each other every time, but now that he really looked at Eric's side of the room he noticed that his bed was still made and his backpack was on the floor next to his desk. "I don't know actually. But right now we've got worse things to worry about." Harry pulled the letter out of his desk drawer and read it aloud to Alice. Her eyes grew wide as he finished reading it. "The Death Eaters? Mom and dad told me about them once. They said they were followers of a Dark Lord that only wanted death and destruction." Harry closed his eyes, thinking about the Death Eaters. "They are a mixture of the weak seeking protection, the ambitious seeking some shared glory, and the thuggish gravitating toward a leader who could show them more refined forms of cruelty," Harry said, quoting something that Dumbledore had once told him.

"So, what do we do? How do we stop them?" Alice asked, looking at Harry. He sighed and sat down on the bed next to Alice. "Arthur said that the Death Eaters are coming here, so we need to prepare for them. I don't have the ability to use my magic whenever I want to here, because it draws a lot of attention. Some people in class still look at me weird ever since that thing with Ella…." Harry smiled slightly, thinking about how he really didn't feel too bad about what happened to her. She was fine, anyway. A little scarring from what he'd heard, but they'd gotten everything removed from her mouth at the hospital. "I need some time to think about what to do." "I understand," Alice said, standing up and heading towards the door. "Let me know if there's anything I can do to help." She gave Harry a hug and kiss goodbye and went back to her room.

Harry reached into his desk drawer and pulled out a notebook that had gone unused so far. He opened to a clean page of paper and began to write down everything he knew about the Death Eaters, trying to organize his thoughts.

_Death Eaters_

_Ruled by Voldemort, imprisoned in Azkaban after V died. Like to torture for pleasure. _

_Returned when Voldemort returned via calling through Death Marks (LOOK FOR THESE, WILL BE SCARS)_

_Malfoy brought them to Hogwarts through Vanishing Cabinet (not one at ASU)_

_Not sure how many are coming._

_Do not understand Muggle norms, look odd when trying to impersonate them. _

Harry underlined the last point and looked at what he had written. Not much, but then again there was so much in his past that he didn't ever want to write down. He closed the notebook and decided that he may add more to it later or at least share it with Alice so she would understand what exactly he was up against. One thing was for sure: he was going to need some help, and he thought he knew where to find the best help he could hope for.

Alice heard a knock at her bedroom door and looked through the peephole, it was Harry. She opened the door to see him standing there wearing his coat and shoes and holding a duffle bag. "Harry, what are you doing? It's almost 1 in the morning." "Pack your bags and get ready," Harry said, smiling, "We're going to England."

**Thank you all for reading and reviewing, it's super helpful! Keep reviewing please! More to come soon!**

**Eridium Blight **


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

"Come on," Harry said, trying to convince Alice that he hadn't gone completely crazy, "It's perfect timing. Thanksgiving break starts tomorrow and we'll have the whole week off from classes. You said yourself just yesterday that you weren't planning on going home for break anyway, since your parents are on vacation in Italy until Christmas. Come with me back home. I need to check on things there, see how the Death Eaters have affected things and get some supplies while I'm there. Plus, you can meet Molly and Arthur, and my best friend Ron. You've heard me talk about them as much as they've heard me talk about you. Please come with me?" Harry gave Alice a smile, knowing she wouldn't be able to resist an adventure. Alice smiled back and him and sighed, "Okay, to England we go."

Alice finished packing up her things while Harry waited. He had already made all the preparations they would need, not that there was much to do. He called Molly and told her they were coming (of course she was overjoyed to have him coming home, though she hadn't mentioned Ginny at once on the phone, not that he minded) and he had already packed everything he would need, making sure to include his wand and his meager notes on the Death Eaters, as well as the notes Molly and Arthur had written him, just in case. The last thing he wanted was for Eric to come back while he was gone and find them. Once Alice had finished packing up all her things they headed to the airport. "A plane? That's not a very magical way to travel," Alice teased Harry. He gave her a playful hug and kiss and they boarded the plane for England. Alice had never been on an airplane, but she seemed to handle it pretty well. They landed just before noon and Molly was already waiting for them at the airport.

"Harry! So lovely to see you!" Molly greeted him with a big hug. Harry hugged her back, he had really missed home. "And this must be Alice," she said, hugging Alice with just as much love, "Welcome, dear. I'm Molly, though I suppose you already knew. Arthur is at work, but he should be at home later this evening. Come on now, grab your bags both of you. I've got the car parked just out the door here, and we've got to get going." Harry and Alice grabbed their bags from the luggage carousel and headed out the door. Harry put their bags in the trunk and climbed into the back seat with Alice. The ride home was pretty short, but maybe that was just because they spent the whole time catching up. Molly already loved Alice, and Harry could tell they would get along wonderfully. _Besides, _Harry thought to himself, _it's not Molly that I'm worried about. _

When they pulled up to the house Ron was waiting for them on the front porch. He ran to the car just as Harry got out and they hugged each other. "Ron! Be a dear and help them with their bags," Molly said. Harry and Ron grabbed the bags out of the trunk and followed Molly and Alice into the house. "She's quite pretty, Harry," Ron said, referring to Alice. "Yeah," Harry said, smiling, "I know."

Harry made himself at home almost immediately. After all, it was his home. He wasted no time in going to the kitchen and making sandwiches for him and Alice. Harry could tell that Alice was a little uncomfortable being there, and he hoped that she would relax. They had just sat down to eat when Harry heard footsteps coming down the stairs. "Uh oh," Ron whispered. No sooner had he said that than Ginny appeared at the bottom of the stairs. She had a lot more makeup on than Harry ever remembered her wearing, and he noticed that her shirt must be new, and was a little too low cut for her style. "Harry, nice to see—"Ginny stopped mid-sentence, noticing Alice sitting next to him. "Who's that?" She asked coldly, gesturing towards Alice like she was some kind of dead animal that was left on the floor. Harry stood up and stepped back from Ginny a few steps before answering. "This is Alice, my girlfriend." That was all he really had time to get out before Ginny started screaming. "I knew it! I knew you didn't come back for me!" Ginny stormed upstairs and all anyone downstairs heard was a door slamming. "Well," Harry said, "that went better than I thought it would." Alice stood and said, "I can leave, if things are going to be that way the whole time. I don't want to bother anyone." Molly shushed her, "Nonsense. You're more than welcome here, dear. Ginny will just have to get over herself." Alice smiled at Molly and sat back down to finish her sandwich.

Arthur got home later than he usually did, but that was to be expected. He knew that Harry was coming home today and he had stopped by the store to get some things for the occasion. When Arthur got home, Harry, Alice, Ron, and Molly were sitting in the living room talking. Arthur smiled, it felt like home again. "Harry, so great to have you back home," he said as he walked into the living room. Harry stood and gave Arthur a hug and introduced him to Alice. Arthur sat and joined them, and the five talked for an hour or so more before Molly headed up to bed. Ron went to bed himself about 20 minutes later, leaving Harry, Alice, and Arthur alone in the living room.

"I'm not going to sugar coat things, Harry," Arthur began. "The Death Eaters have been showing signs of activity around Hogwarts again, and everyone assumes they're after you. If they knew you were back in town, I'd imagine they'd be knocking down the doors as we speak." Alice looked pretty frightened, and Harry put his arm around her to comfort her. "That's why I've come home for break. I wanted to see for myself what I might be up against, and figure out the best way to fight them once I'm back at University." Harry pulled his notebook from his bag and handed it to Arthur. Arthur looked over it and nodded. "That's all about right," he said, handing it back. "Though I did hear something strange today from Kingsley. Since you called and said you were coming home for break, it all seemed to stop. It's almost like they knew you were coming home." Harry shrugged his shoulder and looked at Alice, who was reading over his Death Eater notes. "Huh," she said, handing it back to him. "What?" Harry asked. "It's just weird. The part about the weird clothing and stuff I mean." "Why's that?" He asked her. "The last day of break, there was a new kid in my class. He didn't look any different from anyone else in the class, except that he was wearing a woman's blouse. We all just thought it was some kind of joke or something, but now…." Alice trailed off, and Harry knew exactly where she was going with this. "We need to be on the lookout when we get back from break. It sounds like the Death Eaters may already be at ASU."

Harry awoke early the next morning to the smells of breakfast cooking in the kitchen. His stomach growled and he got up off the couch and stretched. Alice had slept in his bed last night, and he had taken the couch. He walked into the kitchen in his t-shirt and pajama pants and found Alice already dressed and sitting at the table. She was wearing a green long sleeve shirt and blue jeans, and looked absolutely adorable. Harry gave her a peck on the lips and sat down next to her. Molly was at the stove making scrambled eggs to go with the bacon and pancakes that were already steaming on the counter. She had really gone all out this morning. "Where's Ron?" Harry inquired. "Oh, he left earlier this morning to go meet Hermione," Molly said. That got Harry thinking about how much he missed Hermione, and he let out a small sigh. He'd have to make sure to see her at least once before they headed back to ASU. Molly finished up the eggs and made plates of food for Alice and Harry. She was pouring orange juice into some cups when Ginny came down the stairs. She looked much more like herself than she had the night before.

"Harry. Alice." Ginny said curtly, grabbing a plate and scooping some eggs onto it. The kitchen was silent as she filled the rest of her plate and headed upstairs to her room. "She'll be fine," Molly said, not seeming to worry and Ginny at all, though Harry supposed she had been dealing with stuff like this for the past few months. The three of them sat down and began to eat breakfast. They had only been eating for a minute or so when Harry heard his cell phone ringing in the living room. "I must've left it in there. Better go see who's calling," he said, leaving the kitchen. Molly excused herself to the bathroom, leaving Alice alone in the kitchen. She got up and started looking around the kitchen. There was a lot to see in here. Molly had done a wonderful job decorating, and Alice took her time admiring it all. She was looking at an interesting painting in the corner when she heard a noise behind her.

Alice turned to see Ginny pouring some sort of clear liquid into Harry's orange juice. She gasped and hid behind the pantry door so Ginny wouldn't see her. Ginny finished pouring the liquid and headed back upstairs quietly. Alice went back to the table and smelled Harry's drink. It didn't smell any different, but she knew that she couldn't let Harry drink from it. Molly came back from the bathroom and sat down to eat her breakfast. Ginny came down a few moments later as if she hadn't just been down there putting something in Harry's drink and began refilling her glass with orange juice. "Ginny, while you're down here, can you help me with the laundry?" Molly asked. Ginny sighed and followed her mother into the laundry room around the corner. Alice saw her opportunity. She picked up Harry's juice and switched it with Ginny's, then resumed eating her bacon and eggs as if nothing had happened. Ginny came back into the kitchen and grabbed her juice then headed back upstairs to her room. Alice smiled to herself. It would definitely be interesting to see what would happen to Ginny.

Harry came back into the kitchen with a worried look on his face. "Harry, what's wrong?" Alice asked him. "That was the head of the dorm on the phone. Eric's been found dead." Alice hugged Harry. Molly looked worried as well. "Did they say what killed him?" Molly asked Harry. "They didn't know. No signs of anything, really. Which can only mean one thing, I'm afraid," Harry said, pacing around the kitchen. "The Killing Curse," Harry said, grimacing at the very thought of the spell." "What does that mean?" Alice said. "It means the Death Eaters may already be at ASU."

**DUN DUN DUN! Cliffhanger! Thanks again for reading everyone, and as always feel free to review! **

**Until next time, **

**Eridium Blight **


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

The look on Alice's face was just about what you'd expect when someone hears that they might have  
Death Eater at their university. "But how could they have gotten there?" Alice asked, her eyes full of fear. Harry thought she looked really adorable right now, but he was pretty sure this wasn't the right time to point that out. Harry knew there wasn't a Vanishing Cabinet at ASU, so there must be another way that the Death Eaters were getting through. Arthur's face was scrunched up in thought as well, and both men answered in unison: "a Portkey!"

"What's a Portkey?" Alice asked. "A Portkey is something that is enchanted to allow you to travel instantly to a pre-determined destination," Harry explained. "It can be anything, and the Death Eaters could come through it at any time." "We've got to get back and find the Portkey, then," Alice said, already standing up to grab her coat. "You can't just go around checking the personal items of everyone on your campus. First, that would take far too long. Second, that would raise quite a lot of suspicion," Arthur said, and Harry nodded in agreement. "Then how do we find it?" Alice asked.

Harry didn't really have an answer for that question, but thankfully, they were interrupted by the sound of the front door opening and familiar voices filling the foyer. Harry immediately recognized Hermione's voice and turned towards the doorway just as she walked in. She was just as he remembered her, and all at once he was flooded with old feelings for her. Of course he couldn't act on any of them now. He was very happy with Alice, and Hermione had been with Ron for quite a while now. Hermione smiled at Harry and met him in the middle of the room to give him a big hug. After they embraced Harry turned to Alice and smiled, "Alice, this is Hermione." Alice stood up and smiled. "Hi. I've heard a lot about you." Hermione smiled back and said, "It's nice to meet you, Alice. Harry is very lucky to have you." Harry thought he heard a twinge of resentment in her voice but decided not to ask about it. "Good thing you guys came back when you did. Harry and Alice are heading back to ASU tonight," Arthur said.

"We think there's a Portkey at ASU, and that's how the Death Eaters got through," Harry said to Ron and Hermione, who both nodded solemnly. "I'm gonna go pack up my stuff," Alice said, giving Harry a peck on the cheek as she headed upstairs to pack. "It's great to see you, Hermione. It really is," Harry said, smiling at her. "But, uh, I should probably go pack up myself, since we're leaving tonight and all." Harry headed up the stairs, mentally cursing himself for making that situation so damn awkward. Hermione was one of his oldest and closest friends, so why should any of that change?

Arthur dropped Harry and Alice off at the airport with an hour to spare before their flight. The entire time they were waiting for their plane, Harry was going through all of the things that he thought could be a likely Portkey and what the Death Eaters would want with Eric. They boarded the plane and Alice slept most of the way there. Harry couldn't sleep, though he tried. His mind was racing with all of the possibilities of what they could be facing when they got back to ASU.

When Alice and Harry got back to campus, everything appeared to be relatively normal, which concerned Harry. He got up to his dorm room and two policemen were there waiting for him, going through Eric's belongings. "You must be Harry. I'm Officer Mayse, this is Officer Davidson. We'd like to talk to you about your roommate, Eric Watson." Harry shook hands with Officer Mayse and sat his luggage down on his bed and began to unpack as they talked. "Did you know that Eric kept a diary?" Mayse asked Harry. "No?" Harry replied. "His frequently mentions you as his best friend." Mayse said. Harry thought that was really weird, since he and Eric barely talked and Eric hadn't even been around in the last few days before break. In fact, Harry hadn't seen him anywhere lately. "We didn't find much on his person, except for his wallet, a $5 bill, and this," Mayse said, holding up a necklace and showing it to Harry. "Since you're who he considered his best friend, does it mean anything to you?"

Harry held the necklace in his hand and almost gasped aloud. He excused himself from the room, thrusting the necklace back into Mayse's hands before he could say anything. He walked down the hallway until he was sure he was out of earshot of the officers and dialed his phone.

Alice picked up on the second ring. "Hello?" she said. "Alice, it's me," Harry said. "I've found the Portkey."

**Sorry it's taken so long for me to update this. You all know how finals week goes and whatnot. I will hopefully be updating more now that I'm on break for a bit. **

**My thoughts and prayers go out to those affected by the terrible shooting in Connecticut. **

**Have a happy and safe holiday everyone, and please review!**

**Until then,**

**Eridium Blight **


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

***I do not own Harry Potter or anything related to it***

Alice couldn't get down to Harry's room fast enough. She ran down the hallway towards his door and knocked loudly when she got there. She was greeted by a rather frazzled-looking Harry. "You found the Portkey? Where?" Alice almost screamed. Harry put his fingers to his lips and shushed her. He took her by the hand and led her into the living room where Officer Mayse was now standing. "I think we're just about done here. We'll be in contact if we need anything more from you, Mr. Potter," Mayse said, slipping the necklace into a small manila envelope labeled EVIDENCE. Great, Harry thought to himself. I'll be lucky if I ever get to see that again.

As soon as Mayse shut the door behind him, Alice was full of questions. Harry tried to calm her down and tell her the whole story. "Eric's necklace is the Portkey. He was wearing it when the police found his body. It all makes sense now. The Death Eaters came through the Portkey and killed him." "But why would they do that?" Alice asked. That was a very good question. "The only thing I can figure," Harry began, "is that Eric is not who they expected to see on the other side of that necklace. Maybe they thought he stole it from whoever wore it before him and they killed him." Harry wasn't sure who that person was. Before he could get his next thought out, Alice took the words right out of his mouth. "We need to find out where Eric got that necklace."

After checking with Eric's parents (who had no idea he even owned a necklace, let alone wore one every day), Alice and Harry headed to a meeting of the Saved Hearts Alliance, the campus church group that Eric was a member of. They got there 15 minutes before the meeting was supposed to start and started looking for the group's president, Josh Owens. After being unable to find him, Harry approached two members sitting cross-legged on the floor talking. "Sorry, but do either of you know where I can find Josh?" Harry asked the two. One of them, a pretty brunette that Harry vaguely recognized from his Chemistry lecture, Ashley or Amber or something like that, spoke. "Josh hasn't been here for the past couple of days. It's really weird, actually. We were just talking about where he might have gone." "Okay, thanks anyw—" Harry stopped himself. "Excuse me, but where did you get that necklace you're wearing?" Harry asked, gesturing to the necklace that the other girl, a chubby but non unattractive redhead with glasses and her hair in a low ponytail. He wouldn't have even noticed it had the light not caught the obsidian-like stone that shone in the middle of a silver inlay. "Oh, this? We each got one a couple of weeks ago." The redhead said. Ashley/Amber pulled a chain that was previously hidden from underneath her shirt to reveal the same necklace around her neck. "Everyone has one. Why?" "Where did you get them from?" Harry asked, trying not to let the fear show in his voice. "From Josh," both girls said at once.

Harry grabbed Alice's hand and practically dragged her out of the church group's small room. "What's wrong?" Alice asked. She could tell Harry was scared, and she knew that meant something really bad was going on. "They've all got one, Alice. Every single one of them. Josh is behind it, and no one's seen him for days." "One what?" Alice asked. Harry ran his fingers through his hair, already trying to think of what he should do next. "A Portkey. Josh has been using the cover of the church group to get God knows how many Portkeys on the necks of students across the entire campus." Alice gasped and sat down. They were outside now, near a group of benches. "This is just the beginning," Harry said. "A storm is coming. We've got to do something." No sooner had the words left his lips than they heard a gunshot ring out across campus.

**Please read and review! So sorry for the delay! More coming soon!**

**Eridium Blight **


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve **

***Still don't own Harry Potter or anything related to it* **

Harry and Alice ran towards the sound of the gunshot, unlike everyone else who was running as far away as they could. Alice was the first to spot the man with the gun, a student wearing a blue sweater-vest over a white collared shirt and khakis and holding what looked to be some sort of pistol from that distance. Alice almost screamed. "That's Brandon! He sat behind me in Chem last semester. What the hell is he doing?! He's going to hurt someone." Harry and Alice were hiding behind a brick retaining wall about 50 yards from where Brandon was standing on top of a small hill. Police sirens could already be heard in the background.

What's really odd, Harry thought, is that he's not doing anything. He's just standing there, gun in hand, looking around. Almost like he's waiting for something – or someone. Harry was just about to suggest that he and Alice move a bit closer, when something caught his eye. Brandon was wearing something around his neck, and the sunlight had caught it in just the right way as to let it shine for a brief second. "Alice," Harry said. "Look at his necklace." Alice gasped. "It's a Portkey necklace, just like the others." "I've got to find out what's going on here," Harry said.

"So, explain the plan to me again?" Alice asked, pacing back and forth in Harry's bedroom. Harry smiled, it was cute when she was worried, and explained everything again. "I'm going to put on an Invisibility Cloak and sneak into the interview room while the police are talking to Brandon. That way, I can find out why he did what he did and see what exactly it has to do with that church group and the Portkeys." Harry put on the Invisibility Cloak to demonstrate to Alice how exactly it would work, and the look on her face was priceless. "Where'd the rest of you go?!" Harry busted out laughing, took off the Cloak and gave Alice a peck on the lips. "Don't worry, I'll be fine." Alice sighed as she watched him walk out the door and down the hallway.

The interview room was much smaller than Harry had anticipated. He had to squeeze in right behind the police officer, some big burly man with a mustache and 'Goose' printed on his name badge. Harry decided that choosing this moment to laugh at the irony of his name and appearance wasn't the best idea. He would remember to tell Alice about it later, if all went well. The only place Harry could stand without risking being bumped into was the eight or so inches between Officer Goose's tree-sized right arm and the wall opposite the door. Goose stood until Brandon entered the room, then they both sat down. The room was furnished with only a metal table and two very uncomfortable looking chairs, the kind that they have for you to sit in while you wait outside of a Principal's office. Brandon looked nervous, shifting in his chair and darting his eyes around the room, although there wasn't much to see. Harry wondered if Brandon could sense that he was there, and kept very still. "Brandon James, I'm Lieutenant Goose." Oh right, Harry thought to himself, because _Lieutenant _Goose sounds much less ridiculous than Officer Goose. He didn't have time to think much else about the Lt. because Brandon was already talking away. "I didn't mean to! I mean, I did, but I didn't!" Yeah, good thing this kid wasn't an English major. "Calm down, Brandon," Lt. Goose said, his hands resting on the table. He looked like he could break the table in half if he wanted to. "Let's start from the beginning. Where'd you get the gun?" "He gave it to me. He put me up to the whole thing. Said if I didn't, he wouldn't let me pledge Delta Phi next month. I know I shouldn't have, but he promised me no one would get hurt. Said his dad's a lawyer, would get me out of everything. Said it was all part of the plan." Who the hell is he talking about, Harry wondered. Apparently, Lt. Goose was wondering the exact same thing. "Who is _he?_"

Brandon gulped, looked down and the table, and said, "The Delta Phi President, Josh Owens."

**Thank you so much for reading! Please please PLEASE read and review! I work better with feedback!**

**Eridium Blight **


	13. Chapter 13

**I do not own any Harry Potter related information. **

**Chapter Thirteen**

Harry got out of the interview room as fast as he felt he could without being detected. As soon as he was outside he pulled out his cellphone and called Alice, but it went to her voicemail. "Josh put him up to it. I knew he had to be involved somehow. Gonna stay here and see if I can find out why. Call you later. I love you," Harry said before hanging up and sticking the phone back in his pocket. He hung around outside of the building for what seemed like an eternity, but was actually only about five minutes before Brandon came out. He was being escorted by Lt. Goose towards the residence halls. Harry followed them until they reached Brandon's room and snuck in behind Brandon and Lt. Goose. "Remember, don't leave campus. You're lucky we aren't hauling you in right now and charging you. The only reason we aren't is because of this Josh you keep talking about. We're going to find him and see what he has to say about all of this .I'll be back for you tomorrow."

It wasn't as hard to find Josh as Harry thought it would be. All he had to do was make up some bullshit about being his cousin looking for him and the RA in his building gave him up. "Josh is hiding in his room. He told me to tell anyone that looks for him that he's gone, but if there's a family emergency…." The RA trailed off as Harry walked down the hall towards Josh's room, 116. He knocked and surprisingly, Josh answered. He looked a bit worse off than Harry had remembered. What really stood out was his clothing. It didn't match at all. The once stylish boy was now sporting a bright orange polo and red and green plaid pants, topped off with a backwards baseball cap with the school's logo embroidered on it. Harry immediately had red flags going up in his head. _I knew it…._ He thought. "Josh Owens," Harry said. "You don't know me, but I know who you are. Or should I say, I know _what_ you are. You're a dementor in a human's body, using his skin like a hollow shell that you can crawl in any time you like and use seemingly without detection. And the necklaces? They're portkeys, aren't they. But where are you taking everyone?" Harry stood in the doorway with his hands at his sides, ready to reach for the wand he had hidden in his back pocket if need be. Josh's mouth opened, but the sound that came out was anything but a voice. It was more like the wind whispering, howling to Harry. "_They're gone from here. Gone to serve a purpose. Potter must pay."_

Chills travelled up and down Harry's spine. "Why? What must I pay for?" Harry asked. "Whomever you've taken, they didn't do anything. Let them go, it's me you want," he said, feeling like he was walking into his own death trap. _"It. Is. Time."_ The sound from within Josh echoed. "Time for wh—" Harry managed to get out before he was hit in the back of the head with something very heavy, a bat he imagined.

Harry woke up on the cold, wet ground. Rain pelted his face and smeared across his glasses. He stood up and gasped. He knew exactly where he was right away. Harry wiped the mud off of his clothes and hair somewhat and began walking towards the familiar wooden doors. The candlelight illuminating the windows that had once been so welcoming were now anything but. He reached out towards the door and was just about to open it when the door creaked open on its own. A familiar face smiled down at Harry. "Mr. Potter," Kingsley said, nodding. "we've been expecting you. Welcome back to Hogwarts."

**Why has Harry been brought back to Hogwarts? What do the familiar hallways have in store? **

**Until next time,**

**Eridium Blight**


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